Man in the Shadows
by Nijuukyuu
Summary: Hiei witnesses the kidnapping of Yukina, and he sets out to rescue her not aware of whom his enemies even are... Set after he got his Jagan, but before meeting Kurama and the others.
1. Deceived

**Man In The Shadows**

_By Sha / #29 (Sunday, April 24, 2005) _

**_Chapter One: Deceived _ **

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The wind howled through the branches of the ancient forest trees; leaves danced with the breeze, leaving the giant trees mostly bare, as some few leaves struggled to stay attached to their places... but the persistent wind was overpowering...

A faint sound echoed through the air, the call of the owl was clear; yet no animal could be spotted anywhere... Could they be hiding in the hollowed in holes of these mysterious and menacing trees? Or maybe they sensed something... but... what?

In this cold, windy forest; a young demon was slowly making his way forward; he hadn't eaten in days, so he was famished, weak and injured from his last battles as well...

As exhausted as he was, he pushed forward; he wanted to find a safe place to sleep, so he wouldn't have to fight if anyone decided to just attack him...

Tired, cold, and starving...

He felt so empty... too tired to really understand where he was, or where he was heading... too cold to even feel his hand tightly gripping his bloody, wounded bandaged arm... so hungry that his stomach ached, and he felt very dizzy and wanted to vomit...

He stopped, leading his back against one of the trees; hugging himself while shivering violently... he closed his eyes tightly, and when he re-opened them, he was staring up into the menacing figures created by shadows on the trees with their spiderylike branches looming over him; with evil, smiling faces mocking him from on every base of those hideous trees.

He pushed himself forward, then nearly tripped, but quickly steadied himself, and began wandering through the woods on what he assumed could offer itself as a path to somewhere - he didn't care where; he just wanted to get through here...

Finally, he felt so tired, his eyes just closed themselves; and his feet still somehow managed to keep walking... each step felt heavier then the last, but his head felt lighter then anything he could imagine...

How many steps he took was unknown to himself; but he continued walking, half-asleep, half-awake; going on until he found himself at the edge of the woods...

_"Eh!"_ He sharply opened his eyes to feel the pain from the cursed branch in front of him slicing his left shoulder, leaving a small scratch... still the blood dribbled down his arm, seeping into his bandage, and combing with the already dried blood on that.

He stared at this for quite a while, feeling a little dizzy and nauseous; he gulped and then realized he had a very dry throat, and it was itching for water...

He closed his eyes tightly, and slowly turned his head forward, opening his eyes to spy this old stone house covered in vines and thorns... this looked like it had been built into a hill or something of the sort as the roof and most of it, were covered in plants, vines and branches, as if it were apart of the trees behind the young demon.

There was a wooden door, with a very old-fashion type of handle... actually, the wood upon the door looked rotten itself... this certainly was a very old, if not ancient, territory.

His stomach rumbled, making him gulp, which just set off his scratchy throat again...

He moved forward a few feet until he was facing the wooden door head-on... he wondered if he would have trouble if he broke in? He was so weak, and exhausted that he certainly couldn't fight nor felt like it tonight...

He was debating for quite a while in his mind, pacing a little, yet lingering near the door... he desperately needed to sleep... not mention eat, drink and take a warm bathe.

Finally, he just decided to bust in as he caught the scent of rain on the breeze, and heard distant rumbles in the clouds; as he broke open the door; he thought he heard someone behind him, so he glanced over his shoulders, but saw nothing, and just then, the door opened for him...

Inside the door, was a narrow, cold, and damp stone stairway leading downwards, as if into a cellar, suggesting by the same type of door at the end down there... but the demon was so desperate to get out of the cold before it started raining that he just carefully and slowly made his way down into the darkness.

He groaned slightly when he accidentally slipped on the last step, and slammed into the wall with his injured left arm taking the most damage... he took deep breathes, and finally opened his eyes which had shut with the pain... he carefully lifted the wood which was keeping the door locked, and slowly pushed it open...

To his surprise, behind this door was a softly torchlit room, with a fountain with water that ran over the top, cascading onto the floor which was stepdown from the normal floor which Hiei was standing upon...

Hiei looked around more, amazed to find such a paradise after this horrible night - he wondered if he could be dreaming... but then again, shouldn't he be having a nightmare like he always did instead?

The walls were covered with thornless vines, and there were two wooden doors on the other side of the wall... it honestly looked like a garden, because of the vines, and the flowers blooming lively around the skirts of the room; and the fountain made everything look ever more beautiful...

Hiei actually smiled when his eyes came upon the white quilted, with fluffy, cloudlike pillows covering the bed up in the corner behind the flower archway a few feet in front of him, where he stood in the doorway.

He cautiously stepped forward, closing the door behind himself, peeling his ears for any sounds inside here... but it was only silent besides for the soothing sound of the cascading fountain... Hiei sighed quietly in relief that when the door had shut; he couldn't hear anything outside...

He walked over to the fountain, and dip his hands into the small bowl, sighing as the water poured down into his hands... slowly, he removed his bandages, and washed his dry bloody arm, causing the beautiful clear water to become crimson red with his blood, eventfully his arm was completely cleaned, and it actually felt healed...

He tossed his dry, and dark red bandages to the corner of the room, deciding to leave his arm alone right now... returning his gaze to the beautiful water, which had filtered out the bloodiness to clear water again; he wondered if he would be able to wash the rest of himself here? But then decided to explore the other two rooms first...

He opened the door on the left of the fountain, and was very pleased to find a similar, yet more empty room - the reason he was so happy was, that in the middle of the room was a small table set for one with all kinds of delicious-looking food.

He walked over, and sat down in the small chair, which was still comfortable, at least to him; while he began to eat; just grabbing whatever he wanted and eating it, without bothering with the fork, spoon or knives, and plate set on the white tablecloth in right of his wooden chair.

After his hunger was satisfied, his stomach felt so much better and he wasn't nauseous anymore or dizzy; he made his way to the other door, opening it up, but never suspecting his next surprise...

In here, dancing blue lights reflected from the pool upon the walls - in here, there was only one torch to light, only that the water seem to give off it's own light...

Hiei went over to the edge of the pool, sitting down, and placing a hand into the water... it felt warm, and relaxing, even just on his hand...

He quickly undressed himself, folding his dark clothes and placing them to one side, then slipped his aching body into the pool; moaning as a relaxing sensation came over his entire body...

After rubbing his skin clean from all the dirt which had been covering most of it, he waded a bit into the center of the pool; removed his headband, tossing it over onto his clothes; and while leaving his Jagan closed, he closed his two other eyes, and slowly lowered himself under the water...

While under the surface, his fingers brushed through his hair, which was a little dirty too actually... He curiously wondered when the last time did he bother to take a bath? He couldn't remember, but it didn't matter now...

With a sudden intake of air, he surfaced again, and made his way over to the end of the pool; Hiei wished he could stay in the water longer, but he feared he'd fall asleep in here, and drown, so he got out and stood completely naked on the edge of the pool, eyeing his dirty clothes laying there in front of his feet.

He really didn't want to put those back on; now that he was all clean, so while he avoided looking at his clothes while thinking; his gaze came upon some white towels hanging on a long bar behind him.

Hiei nodded, and walked over, pulling one large towel down, and proceeded to dry his wet body and hair, when he finally was hanging it back up, his hand brushed against another white towel, which fell to the floor...

As Hiei bent to pick it up, he realized it was a white robe, not a towel... he smiled, and pulled this on, it was a little big on the small demon, but he tied it comfortably around his thin waist, then scooped up his dirty clothes, bringing them back into the first room, and placing them into the second bowl of the fountain, so more water would cascade, and clean them for when he woke up tomorrow.

Hiei made his way to the large bed, pulling back the quilt covers, and crawled into bed, relaxing against the pillows, pulling the quilt up to his chin; sighing and breathing peacefully; he drifted off to a deep sleep...

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A few hours into the late night, Hiei was disturbed by a loud crashing sound; startled he opened his eyes to see two completely shadowed figures, holding this young girl, who was struggling...

Hiei tried to move, but found he couldn't, only his eyes could move around, and he watched in horror as he realized these two beasts were restraining an Ice Maiden, wearing an aqua green kimono, even though she had a blank white mask on her face, Hiei could see she had light aqua greenish blue hair... his heart beat faster as he realized this Ice Maiden looked like his sister, Yukina!

_How could this happen? Why couldn't he do anything!_

He watched helplessly as the two monsters dragged the whimpering and weeping Ice Maiden up the stone stairs through the broken door, and into that cursed, dark forest...

Hiei was staring, panicked at the doorway, when another monster, whom was cloaked head to toe, came over to Hiei's bedside, and with one large rotten, decayed hand covered Hiei's entire face, and seemed to be trying to suffocate him, until Hiei fainted...

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Once Hiei awakened, he sat up, feeling distressed, and very disturbed after that nightmare... he was taking very deep breathes, as he had one hand covering his face, trying to clear his thoughts...

He finally pulled himself out of bed, stretching his arms, not noticing that his left arm was completely healed... but what he did notice was that the door leading outside was still broken open like it had been in his nightmare... his heartbeat pounding his chest, he lowered his gaze to the floor to notice tear gem pearls scattered about everywhere.

"No..." Hiei gasped, and quickly pulled his completely soaked outfit out of the fountain; he cursed to himself, now he had to let them dry!

Oh well, he just tried squeezing some of the water out, then just gave up, and quickly dressed himself in his wet outfit, and ran outside as fast as he could.

Everything was still as he sharply scanned the area, but only could hear the chirping of innocent birds - it wasn't even windy now, it was just like a normal Spring type of day... the Sun was very warm though...

Hiei cursed to himself as his Jagan failed to pinpoint his sister's location, after fixing his headband, he started off quickly into the woods; worrying like crazy over his little sister, and cursing those monsters... he gasped as he realized... what if that place underground was a setup?

He growled, and wondered if his new enemies could actually be watching him right now?

**_To Be Continued..._**


	2. Ambush

**Chapter Two: Ambush**

**_By Sha / #29 (Sunday, May 15, 2005)_**

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About half a hour passed since Hiei began to search for Yukina, and her kidnappers... He felt helpless, and he hated that...

How could this happen?

Why the heck did he fall for that mysterious place?

He felt a little shameful for that, and still felt like he had been set up somehow... He felt worse because what if he couldn't help Yukina, then he would probably just kil himself for that.

He swore to himself he would torture and murder those darn monsters who had Yukina in the worse way possible once he got his hands on them... if they did anything to her...

Hiei closed his eyes tightly, and stopped running. He wished he knew which direction to go to, but... nothing was helping at all... his mind felt like a beehive, too many thoughts, worries and fears buzzing through his head.

He growled, then shallowed hard, opening his eyes with a very determined look...

_'I will never give up or forgive myself if I can't find Yukina and ensure her eternal safety...'_ Hiei vowed to himself, gripping his hands so tightly together that his fingernails cut into his palm, causing blood to trickle down his fingers as his re-opened his hands.

He stared uncaring at his bloody hands, then lifted his head up just as a cool breeze brushed across his face, filling his body with a strange and eerie feeling, which overwelmed him so much; Hiei gasped in surprise...

The feeling somehow made him feel as if he **_had_** to go towards the center of the forest... he looked to his right, into the once menacing trees... they looked completely harmless in the daylight...

He stepped down off the log he had been standing on, and debated a minute of whether to listen to his instincts... wait, what if it was true?

He needed to do it - for her safety, and so, he began to make his way to the center of the vast forest... it was only a matter of minutes until he finally made it.

Nearing his destination, Hiei could hear the faint sounds of shuffling movements, and small whimpering...

Hiei quickly ran forward into a circular clearing, where his sister was struggling with the two monsters from his nightmare.

She was completely helpless with one monster covering her face with his huge, hideous hand, and her small hands trying to tear them off, but it was useless.

He gasped, and glared at them with the utmost hatred.

"LET GO OF HER, YOU MONSTERS!" Hiei yelled at them, charging forward, withdrawing his sword from his sheath, ready to stab into one of them, but when he was only two feet away... one of the monsters made a strange laugh, and threw it's hand out, creating some sort of shockwave that caused Hiei to fly backwards and crash into the trees.

Hiei groaned in slight pain, his back was aching as he forced himself to stand up, as his vision cleared; he saw that his sword was a few feet away on his right, and that the same monster spreaded out it's hand again, and muttering strange sounds, somehow created a floating black vortex.

Hiei gasped, and ran forward, knowing what was going to happen, but he was too late, as his sister was dragged into nothingness with those demons... Hiei moved faster to get to the closing portal, but had the wind knocked out of his lungs as another demon appeared in front of him, slamming an iron fist into his stomach, sending Hiei crashing through several trees.

Hiei closed his eyelids tightly, gasping as a horrible and very sharp feeling invaded his chest... He was almost convinced his ribs were crushed... or at least, a few broken... speaking of broken, his back felt like heck.

He opened his eyes quickly as he heard dashing footsteps running towards him, and saw a whole gang of these black-clad ninja-looking demons gather around him.

Hiei leaped to his feet, setting off a trigger of pain throughout his body, causing him to topple over weakly... Hiei tried to lift himself up, but was struck down by a heavy weight slamming his bruised back, smashing him into the ground.

Hiei was now very shocked at how incredibly strong they were... but then again, what if he wasn't completely healed? Or what if the food he ate was... somehow affecting him in a negative way?

The last thing Hiei felt before he was out cold, was the sharp pinch as a needle injected his arm... and Hiei felt more pathetic then ever...

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Hiei opened his eyes to see a wood ceiling up above him... he felt confused, and his head hurt badly. He became alarmed to hear sounds that he couldn't figure out right now; he sat up quickly; and was surprised to find himself in a bed, with the blanket covering his legs.

He looked around and quickly spotted a female demon, sitting kneed on the floor a few feet away from him. She had carrot-colored, bushy hair that was only shoulder-length, and big, bright green eyes... she was also looking eagerly at him, and then smiled.

"Hey Grandpa! He's finally awake!" She yelled, startling the young fire demon.

Hiei stared strangely at her when a bushy, orange tail wagged from behind her... and he wondered why he hadn't noticed her two orange catlike ears first.

"Oh, I see he is..."

Hiei looked to the door to see an old, short man slowly walk in... this man also was a feline demon... only his furs and hair were greyish white, and his eyes were almost shut, you couldn't even see them... and he had very bushy eyebrows. The old man was dressed in a kimono, while his granddaughter had on a dull blue tanktop while showed off her slim waist, and fainted red short-shorts.

"Who the heck are you people!" Hiei demanded, standing up on the other side of the bed from them, glaring at them.

"Hey! How dare you! Grandpa and me took care of you even since this morning when we found you fainted in those dark woods!" The catgirl cried, with her hands placed on her hips, while her grandpa twitched his nose curiously, with his hands held before his humped back, nodding slightly.

"..." Hiei glared for a few more seconds, but the girl never flinched, and finally, he stared down, sighing; and looked back up at the two feline demons.

"Fine. I'm grateful you two took care of me." Hiei quickly said, then walked past them out the flapcovered door.

"Hey!" He heard that annoying girl yelled after him...

By the looks of it, he was in a pretty old village... all the houses looked as if they were just straw and wood... with 'doors' that you just toss up a sheet to get in...

All the people were also cats, and dressed in kimonos while the younger demons wore strange clothes (or in other words, human-type clothes... : P )

Hiei growled once the same catgirl from before grabbed his shoulder, and Hiei was happy to slap her hand off, while backing away.

"What's your problem!" She snapped, glaring at him.

"Apparently you." Hiei snapped, growling again. He really wished he wasn't here, he didn't want to be with - or near - anyone. He just wanted to find his sister...

"You jerk!" She cried, and turned on her heel, looking back towards the house Hiei had came out of, where her grandfather was standing, nodding and twitching his nose.

"Grandpa! He's so ungrateful!" She cried, while the grandfather started to make his way towards the two.

"Who said I was ungrateful?" Hiei snapped at her, crossing his arms.

"Your attitude!" She hissed, and looked to her grandfather, who was now smiling... and Hiei thought they both - and the whole village - all looked like a bunch of idiots.

"Now, now, children..." The grandfather chuckled, and turned to Hiei. "Now, what was your name?"

"Hmph..." Hiei growled, but finally uttered his name quietly.

"Hiei!" The catgirl cried loudly. "Oh my gosh! Are you that infamous thief who kills people!" She looked terrified, and Hiei smiled sadisticly.

"Yes, now, what's your problem?" Only his question wasn't really a question, more of a mockery...

"Hmm..." The grandfather stared (or at least Hiei thought he was staring... he couldn't tell because the old man's eyes looked shut...) at Hiei, and nodded slowly. "My name is Hara Taiki, and hers is Hara Miwa."

"_'Miwa'_ means _'beautiful harmony'_." Miwa bragged, and Hiei just gave her the evil eye, making her glare back at him.

"Why would I care?" Hiei said coldly, and turned back to the old man. "Your granddaughter is the most annoying thing I've ever met."

"Yes, yes, she is." The old man laughed while Miwa protested, and glared at both of them.

"That's it!" She turned around, and stormed off.

Hiei rolled his eyes, and nodded at Taiki. "Thankyou for taking care of me... You see, I'm actually on a mission, and I need to go as soon as possible."

"Nope, you can't do that." Taiki shook his head, and Hiei asked him why, Taiki nodded, then answered: "Any new person - unless they are a feline themselves - must go through - and complete most of the trials that we have set for them... it's a tradition..."

Hiei sighed, and glared at the old man...

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_**To Be Continued...**_

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	3. Nightly Visitor

**Chapter Three: Nightly Visitor**

**_By Sha / #29 (Wednesday, May 18, 2005)_**

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It had only been a few days since Hiei had arrived in the feline-infested village... He was staying in a tent that the village elder (he had also learned that Taiki was the village elder, not to his surprise...) had some strong catmen built for their reluctant 'visitor'...

Hiei was really anxious to get out of the village, but had failed when he tried to run away _twice_... it was probably because he was still quite beat from his previous beatings before he ended up in the village that he failed to get away... He was really loathing the felines for wasting his precious time that he should be using to track down his sister and her kidnappers.

Miwa was still as annoying (actually, even _more _annoying, Hiei noticed) as she liked to follow him around and nag at him for giving everyone the cold shoulder... and one night he had caught her spying on him in his tent, and, of course, the following day he confronted her... and let's just say, he scared the living daylights out of her telling her to mind her own business and to leave him alone for the rest of his stay...

The poor frightened girl had began to avoid him now, which just amused Hiei, and Taiki who had noticed it, and was told what happened from Hiei.

What disgusted Hiei was that Taiki said that he thought that Miwa might've had a crush on Hiei, and admired him greatly...

Hiei didn't want anything to do with catdemons or relationships... he had had a previous 'girlfriend' (if he could call her that) who was a catdemon named Kathy (before he had his Jagan implanted)... the reason they had been together was because he saved her tail from a beating by a giant, tough Muscle-type demon... but that relationship wasn't anything important compared to his duties now.

Another annoyance was that Taiki, and his followers, were taking a pretty, darn long time to discuss what trials to put the fire demon through... Hiei had tried to listen to them a few times during their meetings, but was bored out of his mind and really ticked at how idiotic they were by going into a completely different discussion and making stupid jokes about things that had happened during their day...

Hiei finally gave up eavesdropping, and had a strong temptation to go and threaten Taiki (and his followers); telling them that either they really come up with worthy trials (which he doubted that their small brains could come up with), or just let him leave...

Hiei had also began to watch the village guards who guarded the village, so that he pretty much understood their routines, and he was hoping to come up with a brilliant plan to escape as soon as possible...

As Hiei laid in his straw mat bed in his tent; he was thinking of ways to get out of this place, and relaxing to the night sounds, as owls hooted far outside his tent, and wolves would howl once in a while beyond the village borders in the dark forests... and tonight, Hiei didn't hear any annoying villagers outside either thankfully.

Hiei amused himself by lifting his hand up in front of the candlelit lantern, and lazily moving it around to watch the shadows dancing upon the tent walls... and wondering if his sister was alright... he hoped, more then anything, that she was alright, or else he vowed that he would slaughter her kidnappers and their people, and maybe, _just maybe_, this _entire _village for getting in his way... _even if_ it was ungrateful to the village elder and his granddaughter for taking care of him when he had been injured.

Hiei finally began to drift off to sleep; his right arm crossed over his stomach; with one knee rested up while the other hung off the side of the bed onto the dirt floor; he was breathing peacefully and softly... completely unaware of the nightly visitor right outside his tent...

The visitor silently slipped through the flapdoor, slowly making their way over to the resting demon, who looked as innocent and as helpless as a sleeping child...

The visitor, whom was completely cloaked in black, slipped a decaying, bony hand into it's other sleeve, taking a sharp-bladed dagger, resembling a razer, out; and placing it a few inches away from Hiei's pale cheek... it paused, breathing heavy; it's cold breath causing Hiei to shiver and whimper slightly as his eyelids tightened as if trying to close them deeper... then it slowly, lowered the dagger down to Hiei's neck; and was about to slit the fire demon's throat when Hiei's eyes opened suddenly, and he quickly gripped the monster's wrist, and a loud snap shot through the air as Hiei broke it, making the cloaked monster drop the blade but it had already cut into Hiei's shirt, leaving a deep cut on his shoulder that he ignored as he rose from his bed, giving his attacker the most deadiest glare.

"Who are you!" demanded Hiei in a loud whisper, as he wouldn't let go of the intruder's broken wrist... yet the cloaked monster never attempted to try and break away, nor did it even make a sound... except for it's unearthly, deep breathing; that was quickly filling the tent with a cold air; which Hiei noticed with a surprise at it.

The cloaked creature did absolutely nothing as Hiei quickly tore off it's cloak... Hiei ended up coughing as the cloak fell off, revealing some sort of dust cloud, that dissolved into a black smoke, and fled out through the flapdoor, making it wave wildly as the deathly smoke made it's way up into the night sky.

Hiei fell backwards on his bed, still coughing uncontrollably, and knocked down the lantern, which seemed to get caught on the smoke, and speaded a fire, which quickly crept up the tent wall... Hiei ran out of the tent, trying to catch fresh air before he suffocated from the thick smoke and his coughing...

Hiei's tent had been in right of the river bank that ran along the outskirts of the village, so the fire demon quickly gathered water in his palms, forcing a drink down his throat, which helped his lungs actually... then he quickly jumped back up to his feet, and turned to face the fire that was just spreading onto the elder's and his family's tent.

"NO!" Hiei sped into the tent; which already had a distinct burning smell coming from the other side of the tent where the old man, Taiki slept helplessly...

Hiei ran over, and woke up Miwa, who looked shocked and frightened to see him right now, and was about to scream when Hiei covered her mouth; as quickly as he could, he explained that a fire had started, and he needed her to wake up her mother and father right away, get out and warn the other villagers as fast as possible while he went and rescued her grandfather.

Miwa was still quite shaken as she watched Hiei dash off behind the curtain dividing the tent to where her grandfather was sound asleep, and then as it all clicked in her mind, she jumped up and got her parents up; and literally dragged them outside, where they saw the fire, and ran off to wake up their neighbors.

It didn't take long at all for the villagers to start working together to get the fire out, using pails and whatever else they could grab to get water over to the fire... while Miwa stood, outside her family's tent, completely shocked and scared about her grandfather's safety, praying that Hiei could save him before it was too late...

"Taiki!" Hiei scanned the dark, smoke-filled room, looking around the ground for his mat, where he should be sleeping... Hiei coughed; and covered up his mouth by pulling his shirt over it.

A loud and sick sounding coughing came from the other side of where Hiei stood; he turned to see Taiki trying to sit up, coughing terrible; as Hiei helped the elder up.

"I'm going to get you out of here." Hiei said, and picked the (rather heavy) old cat up; quickly carrying him through the rather huge tent as the spreading fire seem to anger and chase them along the walls, and finally Hiei and Taiki came out the other side just before the tent completely collapsed behind them.

"Grandpa!" Miwa hugged her grandfather, crying; and so did her parents; who also thanked Hiei, who stood, and just stared at the villagers putting out the fire... then he just fainted, falling on his side... and blacked out for a few hours...

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After those hours passed, Hiei woke up to find himself resting on a pallet, that felt of feathers inside; and he sat up... No one was around, but the flapdoor was pulled up with a rope to leave it open, and a soft breeze was coming in.

Hiei stood up, and realized that his cut arm was banaged up; he touched it, and flinched as it still hurt to touch.

"Rise and shine, handsome." Miwa smiled at him, carrying a basket of fruit and vegetables, setting them down on a wooden crate, as Hiei crossed his arms.

"Don't call me that." He told her coldly, and she just smiled at him... which was odd, as she should've barked back or glare and walk off.

"I'm so happy and grateful to you, Hiei." Miwa sat on the edge of the crate, with her hands holding on either side of the crate next to her.

"I did what had to be done." Hiei walked over to the open flapdoor, and sighed deeply, wishing that he could leave already.

"My grandfather is grateful, as are the whole village." Miwa jumped off the crate, and stood next to Hiei, much to his dismay.

"Hn." Hiei tilted his head, watching a few birds fly over the other tents, and land onto branches on the tree nearby.

"Well..." Miwa was still cheerful, and placed a hand on his shoulder, which he ignored. "They were so grateful that we've all decided to drop the village tradition this once, so you can go back on your mission."

Hiei looked at her, surprised, and almost smiled, but caught himself at the last minute; then just nodded.

Miwa smiled again, and walked off to the crate, sitting on it again, and taking an orange; and began to peel it.

"Hiei?" Miwa asked after a minute of silence, and Hiei looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "What... um, if I may ask... exactly is your mission?"

"..." Hiei looked stern again, and Miwa's tail dropped, as her ears lowered, waiting for him to snap at her, but he merely looked back outside.

"All I can tell you is, that it's very important to me... And you, nor your people could ever help with this, so what's the point in telling anyone?... But I am grateful to you and your grandfather for taking care of me for a while." With that, he walked off into the village, while she just stared after him, finally happy he _was _at least grateful to them.

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"So, this is farewell..." Taiki nodded to Hiei, as the whole village stood behind him. "We would've liked it if you had stayed for our thankyou ceremony, and dinner... but, you do have to do something far more important, so we let you go with the utmost gratitude."

Hiei nodded, and was amazed that the whole village bowed down before him, all uttering thanks to him.

"Hiei..." Miwa ran forward to stand in front of him. "Can't you stay for another night? Please?" She pleaded, but he shook his head.

"I must leave." Hiei turned, and Miwa sighed sadly.

"I wish I knew you better... We could've been great friends." Miwa said in a small and shy voice, then stood next to her grandfather, who was nodding.

"Maybe, but I doubt it." Hiei said coldly, walking off.

"Argh... what's with that guy? He's still as mean as ever!" Miwa sighed, rolling her eyes; wishing she could've been friends with him, then maybe he wouldn't be a jerk.

"Harharhah... That's the way of the warrior..." Taiki chuckled... and Miwa, and the whole village watched as the young warrior disappeared into the distant fog, knowing he would probably never return.

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_**To Be Continued...**_

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	4. Another Lead

**Chapter Four: Another Lead**

**_By Sha / #29 (Wednesday, May 18, 2005)_**

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It had been a long week since Hiei had left the feline village... and right now, he had ended up in another forest... not a menacing one, but one that filled the air with and gave off emotions of sorrow and loneliness; which Hiei noticed greatly...

He had been in here for two days now, and hadn't found the other end of it yet... by now, he perfectly knew this was a very huge forest... but he was going to go through here no matter what it took...

He originally came across here from the blind chase on his sister and her kidnappers, who would appear, then lure him to a deadend... they always got away through that darned black vortex...

Hiei had began to become suspicious of why they played this game with him, and noticed they didn't seem to have injured Yukina yet... but he just played along, and would until he could somehow save her.

Maybe they were leading him to their master? and was just using her as the bait to make him go there... Hiei didn't know, but was still as furious as ever...

Hiei sighed, and stopped to sit down on a large, tilted stone, next to a pool of spring water... The stone felt cool to the touch, as did the water... it was actually very cool, yet not nearly chilly, but not warm either...

He wondered why it wasn't ever daytime?

But that could be because of the large towering trees... yet he could perfectly see the silver moon, and the stars in the nightsky... they reflected and sparkled on the pool in a way that made Hiei relax as he watched them.

Hiei was slightly startled when a pure snow white wolf cub came up to the water, and began to drink it, without even being afraid of Hiei... or perhaps he didn't even notice Hiei at all?...

Hiei smiled as it was called back into the trees by his mother's call, and the little wolf pup ran off eagerly, giving one cry back.

He wondered what it would be like if he was like that little pup... innocent, happy and carefree? He sighed, and shook his head, shaking away the silly thought.

Hiei's smile faded as he rested back against the rock, staring up into the sky, where the stars shined brightly then he had ever seen, and the moon seemed to look down upon him.

_'How could I let this all happen? ...Then again, there wasn't a way to stop it... If I hadn't been there that night... Yet I still feel this was a setup... I just know it...'_ Hiei sighed again, wishing that this didn't happen, and that he could somehow just end it already, and save Yukina...

"Yukina... please, I pray you're safe, sister..." He closed his eyes, and focused his enegry on his Jagan, trying to see his sister again... but was greeted by terrifying images of her struggling, and trying to scream, but was muffled through that blank white mask; as the monsters held her down, and began to cut into the flesh on her arms with thick bladed daggers...

She screamed louder and was shaking with pain; as tears of ice fell all around her; and the blood began to flow freely from her pale arms, soaking her kimono; while beginning to create a small pool upon the stone floor...

Hiei stood up, angered; pinpointing the location to be to the south, and took off as fast as he could... He easily avoided hitting anything, as the trees were evergreens, and not as pesky as normal wood trees... All the animals he sped by were very startled, but that didn't matter to Hiei; all that mattered to him was getting there as soon as possible... before they had the chance to kill her...

He finally came across to stop in front of a large riverbank of dark water; right below this tall, towering, menacing dark castle, with it's drawbridge up... He knew this was it, and he had to get in.

Hiei gasped, and clutched his fists tightly together as he heard a young female scream echo from inside the castle. He growled as he thought of the horrible things that could be happening to her at this every moment; and readied his sword, becoming very alert.

He had quickly learned that every time he chased, and came close, he was always attacked, but this time he would be ready...

For a long moment of silence; Hiei became more suspicious, and looked around... but nothing happened; until, with a loud thud that made him jump; the drawbridge fell down, revealing the halls of the inside...

From what he could see; the carpets were red; there were torches on the walls, and the stone walls were covered in vines and poisonious looking plants.

Hiei waited for a few more seconds, before walking cautiously across, into the castle; where he jumped again, startled from the drawbridge closing up behind him... Every little sound was making him twitch; he was so nervous and worried, but was ready if he were attacked.

Now, he knew that Yukina **_must_** be in here somewhere... he felt that it was up... perhaps even the hightest tower; there had been quite a few towers, he had noted.

He strained his eyes and ears for anyone and any sound, but that was only the crackling of the torches, and their dancing shadows...

He took a deep breath, and continued forward; holding a hand on the handle of his sword, ready to withdraw it; but after a while, he made it to a giant room.

White stone statues stood along the wall, each divided by portaits of different eras; demons and humans were in them; violence and hate were shown through these drawings; and the statues seem to stare at Hiei with life; giving off emotions of hate; sorrow; and despair.

Hiei shrugged it off, but kept an eye on them anyway; he never knew... they just might attack him...

He then walked forward into the middle, right under the chandelier... white candles upon the golden handles, the entire thing was golden, with gold chains holding it into the ceiling, with white crystals dangling from beneath...

The ceiling had paintings on it, with golden beams all leading to where the chandelier was... the paintings also showed pain, and were similar to the portaits around him...

He noticed that every pair of eyes, on the paintings and the statues seem to stare right into him... he tried shrugging it off and ignoring it, but it was overwelming...

The red carpet went two ways, both leading up stairways, either way led to two fancy, wooden doors which were side-by-side... underneath that, was an archway, with two standing candle holders, leading to another fancy, and polished wooden door.

"Okay, let's see..." Hiei removed his headband to use his Jagan...

He saw his sister laying on a large, white bed that looked very uncomfortable; he wasn't sure if she was asleep or not; because of that darned white mask... her arms were tucked behind her back, and she was laying on them... he figured they chained her, and that made him more furious...

He definitely felt that she was upstairs somewhere...

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_**To Be Continued...**_

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	5. Tainted

**Chapter Five: Tainted**

**_By Sha / #29 (Sunday, May 22, 2005)_**

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The rain outside sounded endless; cold breezes pushing against the windows, as if trying to find a way in... Could it be looking for warmth, but that was foolish; the entire castle was chilly... or at least her room...

Could the wind and rain be as lost as she felt? Or did it actually wish to rescue the poor, young ice maiden from this cruelty forced upon her?

Yukina just laid there on this old mattress they had left her on, she wondered if she would be able to get out of here? If someone would only save her...

If only someone would come for her... if only she could see another peaceful place... but with this mask on, she couldn't see anything, only darkness... that which frightened her...

The mask couldn't conceal her tears though, as precious ice tear gems rolled off her cheek, and fell; gathering around her on the white sheets...

As she shook from her tears, she began to whimper from the pain in her bloody arms reminded her of the cuts they had conflicted on her...

She was feeling hopeless, exhausted, and quickly losing her faith... completely unaware that her older twin brother was coming for her... but would he even be able to?

This castle, was one of the trickiest, and had traps; and mazes where no one ever returned... the strongest monsters from nightmares lurked in every shadowed corner, waiting, patiently waiting for some fool to venture in...

Mostly, people who were traveling, and became wary, usually made their blind way in, understandably hoping to find somewhere to sleep after their long and exhausting journay... but everyone was deceived...

Nobody was ever warned about this dark, demonic castle either... because almost no one ever escaped living... some were let out, injured, bloody and wounded to no end; just for amusement to the sadistic owner, and their cruel followers... they eventfully just died from bloodlost, and poisoning after being tortured for hours on end; barely even getting a few feet into the enchanted forest; which cried for these unfortunate travelers...

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Hiei let out a gasp as he felt a cold, sharp feeling stab into his chest, filling him with pain... As quickly as it had came, it passed; and Hiei stood up again, still holding a hand on his chest.

Why couldn't he sense anything out of all these eerie feelings coursing through his very being? He just felt like he was being watched; as well as hatred, sorrow and pain... more and more pain... but was unable to really feel where an enemy was exactly...

Hiei continued forward, very cautious and alert, waiting for someone to show up so he could slaughter them... just as he was half-way up the left side of the stairs; he heard a distant sound of sobbing coming from below him.

He stood a few minutes, confused, knowing he had felt his sister upstairs... but who was crying?

He finally decided to go back down, and look into the lower door to see if she might be there instead...

Upon opening up the door, he looked into a hallway, similar to that of the entrance hall... only more wider.

The weeping now echoed through the corridor, and he stepped forward; still alert for some attack or trick to come to him... but as he made his way into this hall, nothing happened, yet he never let his guard down once...

The sounds of crying became more clear, yet still seemed quite distant to him.

Hiei caught his breath quick as he heard a shimmering sound of clicking glass, but it was only a cold breeze making the small glass wind chimes hit together... Then it accuired to Hiei; since when was the wind inside?

Perhaps there was a window open? There were plenty of doors on either side of him; and the one beneath the wind chimes was partly cracked open...

As he placed a steady hand upon the brass handle, the crying ceased to be heard; making Hiei curiously look around, then he opened the door...

...to see two small children, huddled together underneath a torn, dusty thin blanket, against a small spring bed frame with no mattress... The entire room was dark, dusty, and probably once had white walls, judging by the looks of it...

There was a window open, right above the two children's heads; and they were shivering, teary-eyed; looking frightened and untrusting at Hiei, as if expecting him to come in and hurt them...

They clearly looked like they were either put through quite a bit of pain, or witnessed it... judged easily by the mistrust and scared feelings coming from them, and seen through their young eyes.

Hiei stood in the doorway a few more minutes, as the two began to weep again, and cried at him, _'Go away!'_.

Hiei walked over to them, making the two shudder, and whimper as he knelt down, placing a hand on the wood floor near their little bare, and dirt covered feet.

"What are you names? I'm not here to hurt you two, I could help you... I promise." Hiei tried his hardest not to sound too kind to the children, but he could not help feeling sorry for them... they must be feeling how his sister felt right now... lost, frightened, faithless and untrusting... which angered him... he couldn't stand this, and couldn't wait to find the ruler of this castle, destroying him and all his followers for hurting innocent lives and tainting them with fear and mistrust like this...

"Um... ah..." The one against the wall, whom was a young girl uttered, who was holding the young boy in front of her; both hugging each another; staring at Hiei, as if still afraid of trusting him yet...

Hiei easily figured they must be sister and brother... but why and how were they kidnapped? or were they just another trick to fool him into a weak position?

"Are you going to save us, mister?" The boy asked; and he sounded sick as if with sore throat nearly; but that could be the dust in the room.

"..." Hiei stared at the two, studying them... both were smudged with dirt, with a few faint yet still visible scratches on their small arms; and they both looked alike, with their dark hair, and eyes; with the same round, chubby little faces; and tearstains trailing a clearing through their dirty cheeks.

He didn't feel any menace from them, and wasn't sure that they were even an illusion anymore...

Hiei figured he _should_ save them - he had found them, now it was his duty to rescue them... but he didn't know what to do with them... he could try to get them out somehow... but the drawbridge was closed... or maybe he could just make them stay here until he had fought his way to the top, and safely rescued Yukina, then he could go back for them as well... because he could never take them with him without risking their young, and innocent lives...

Hiei shallowed, and nodded to answer the little boy's question; and was really surprised when the two hugged him around the neck, whimpering against his chest... he then realized they were crying again as their tears seeped through his black cloak, and sleeveless shirt, touching his skin beneath...

He couldn't help placing an arm around each of them, whispering to them softly... "I promise I will get you two out of here... but I need to save another person... she's upstairs somewhere... and I need to leave you two right here so you can be safe..."

"What if someone comes down here to hurt us?" The little girl asked, as she and her brother looked up into his face... he knew they were both counting on him, and he didn't want to let them down...

"...Well..." Hiei realized he couldn't really know if someone would come down, he hadn't thought of that...

He looked around the room, noticing a door on the wall.

"Just a minute..." He stood up, and the two cuddled together, watching Hiei as he walked over to the door, opening it, to reveal a rather large closet, that only had empty clothes hanging down from metal bars.

Hiei quickly checked through the closet; when he realized it was safe, he decided he could get them to hide in here for a few hours... hopefully, he would be able to save Yukina before too long...

"Would you two be willing to hide in there until I can come back for you?" Hiei asked, kneeing down in front of the two again.

"...Okay..." The two quietly said, shivering again, as a chilly breeze sweeped in through the window again.

Hiei took off his cloak, and wrapped it around the two, carrying them over to the closet, placing them in, then he went over to the window, and closed it quietly.

"Wait!" One of the two cried to him, and he went over, bending down to them.

"What?"

"What's your name?" The girl asked, as the little boy rested against her, looking sleepy.

"...Hiei..." Hiei said quietly, and they both repeated it slowly. "Now, what are your names?" Hiei asked again, remembering they hadn't answered before.

"I am Hikari..." The girl said softly, then her brother spoke. "And I am Hikaru."

"Well... are you two twins?" Hiei decided to spare a few minutes to talk so they would feel safe for a while.

"Yes." They nodded. "We're only four... Mama and Papa disappeared when we got taken away..." The two then continued to tell him about they had decided to take a family trip into this forest, so their parents, who were studying nature could observe it, but it started raining, so they went into the castle, then sometime during the night, their mother and father were attacked, and them kidnapped.

They had tried leaving this room, but were always put back in, then the monster who threw them back in, would leave a cut on each of their arms, to 'warn them'...

Hiei felt angered, but didn't show it to them; he only stood up, telling them he had to get going now, and for them to wait for him.

As he was leaving the room, he glanced back to see their little eyes peeking out at him... this time, these eyes were full of trust and hope...

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_**To Be Continued...**_

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	6. Surprise Attack

**Chapter Six: Surprise Attack**

**_By Sha / #29 (Sunday, June 19, 2005)_**

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Hiei made his way back into the room with all those hideous statues and portaits, not favoring one bit then before... He turned around, closing the hallway door behind himself, and lept up right in front of the two doors closed together.

"Time to see what'll hit me next..." He calmly murmured to himself, opening both of them at once - to reveal a long and wide hallway...

Walls, floors, and ceiling were all of dark stone... with vines crawling along the floor and walls... small green roots creeping through some of the cracks... they looked sickenly... shiny? Like leather... but it was not artificial, Hiei noted, as he took a quick slash through one just out of curiousity.

There were doors along the wall... just a few metal doors, being overbranched by vines and their leaves... at the end of the hallway was a dark entrance to a stairway... but Hiei was busily opening the other doors to see just empty rooms within... that just resembled green houses... but without the lighting, as all were just dark.

In fact, there was only one torch, which was just beside the doors he had come through... and that flame was very dim, as it was slowly going out.

Hiei backed from the doorway, sighing... what had he suspected to see? There were no hints to whom his enemy really was... the one pulling all the strings... except that they apparently had a love for nature... how strange...

As he turned around towards the stairway, he saw his sister coming down the last few steps... her kimono was torn, her arms bloody; and her poor innocent face covered by that blasted, blank ivory mask.

"Ah!" Hiei gasped in surprise, and she jerked her head towards him, becoming alarmed.

As he walked towards her, she backed up the stairs. "No! Don't come near me!"

He stopped in his tracks... she was frightened? ...of course... she couldn't see him... but even if she did, why would she trust him?

He could easily just kill her like the other demons could've, but she had no idea he wanted to rescue her... had no clue... he was her twin brother at all...

Hiei began to approach her once more, and she turned, stumbling at first, but then ran up the stairway; and he began to chase her.

"Wait!"

He could barely keep an eye on her as they ran up the spiral stairway... it was dark, damp and cold, and he could actually see his breath as he panted slightly, trying to catch up to his sister.

The chase continued... but for how long? Hiei wondered... how much more until they reach the top of the stairwell? He wondered if some of those edges that he hit against in the walls were windows or doors...

What would he say to Yukina once he caught up to her? It wouldn't matter... maybe he would just bring her; with her mask on so she wouldn't have to look at him...and those twins, Hikari and Hikaru, to safety...

"What!" Hiei had been so busy thinking, that Yukina had completely... disappeared from his eyesight... but now he was face-to-face with a metal door... did those monsters find her and take her through another portal?

But how?

Wouldn't he have been able to feel - not mention _see -_ them?

He cursed to himself, sighing; and pushed open the quite heavy door... which clanked open, making a loud thud as it came swinging against the wall on the inside...

Hiei flinched... now his enemies must know that he was there already... he wandered into the wide room, it was all ivory stone, with Roman type pillars along the walls... his footsteps echoed in the room, and he could even see his own image in the polished floor.

As he stood in the middle of the room, he heard - and felt - a heavy rumbling start up, and he withdrew his sword, readying for any attack.

The rumbling got worse, it felt like an earthquake almost... Dust began falling from the ceiling and the pillars - was the room about to collapse!

But just as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

Just stopped... everything was silent, and Hiei felt very tense, as he scanned left and right without moving an inch... what _was_ going on!

Nothing happened for a few minutes... Hiei stood up straight, glancing around, but refusing to drop his guard.

Just then, smashing through one of the metal doors came a giant spikeball that nearly hit Hiei, who quickly leaped out of the way...

Hiei stared at it, and his eyes followed along the chain to... a metal suit of armor which came marching it with very loud echoing footsteps.

It yanked the chain spikeball out of the floor, then began swinging it around and around above it's 'head'...

Hiei walked forward just as it turned to him, and he barely had time to react as the giant spike came rushing at him again... this continued for a while - Hiei dodging the spikeball as the suit of armor was bent on hitting him hard... and finally did...

Hiei miscalculated his jump, which accidently enabled the chain of the spikeball to hit his ankle, throwing him to the floor with a loud thud, as his sword went flying across the room.

Hiei could barely lift himself, panting heavy... darn... that hurt... he cursed, turning over just as the spikeball was about to smash into his body... he quickly rolled out of the way, gasping... _that_ could've been the end for him.

The suit of armor whipped the spikeball back into the air, facing Hiei, whom could barely stand upon his hurt ankle... as it advanced towards the young demon who was clearly cornered...

Hiei stared at it; _would_ he be able to jump out of the way quick enough with this bad ankle? He seriously doubted that his sword would do any damage to the suit and the chain...

Hiei quickly snapped back to reality, realizing that he was staring at what could offer itself as a weakness in his enemy...

An upside-down triangle was placed on the left side of it's chest... deep into the triangle; were burning coals...

_'Yes! Now if I can stab my sword through that...'_ His thoughts trailed off, as he noticed his sword several feet behind the suit of armor.

He clenched his fists, growling... he didn't have any time left, as the suit began swinging it's chainball faster, and a deep laugh echoed from inside the armor.

He took a deep breath as the spikeball began charging towards him, then took a dash to the side, rushing past the suit which was taking some time getting the spikeball back to it.

Hiei winced slightly, glaring at his ankle, snatching up his sword... he now focused on the suit of armor which slowly turned around... then Hiei glanced at the pillars...

Hiei began to run along the side of the pillars, ignoring the sharp pain in his ankle as the spikeball chased him, crashing into each pillar, filling the room with smoke and rubble...

As he reached the last pillar, he readyed (readied?) himself, then took a backflip, landing gracefully onto the chain of the spikeball which was stuck in the smashed up stone pile.

Hiei turned to the suit which was trying to yank the spikeball to itself, but failing... then Hiei dashed forward, thrusting the sword deep into it's 'heart', then leaping over it's 'head', landing on the other side of the room, and falling slightly from the pain that jump took out of him; as he watched the suit of armor suddenly stop moving... then it caught on fire, and the flames ignited it's entire body for a few minutes... then the flames disappeared, leaving a pile of ashes in it's wake...

Hiei sighed, catching his breath, then slowly made his way over to the ashes... there was even ashes trailing into the stones... he bend over, moving ashes out of his way... amazing, his sword was perfectly fine as he picked it up... it was just... heated, but that didn't matter.

Hiei reunited his sword with his sheath, then began looking around again... what a difference one _'little'_ fight did to this once elegant room!

There was still the door he had came through... the door which his enemy had came smashing through... and three other doors... of course, he was going to have to get over the rubble.

As he began making his way up one mount, the two doors not near him (one door was in front of him.), opened up, and... to his horror... two suits of armor, although golden armor this time, came through those doors, each carrying a giant axe.

Hiei stood up on the stone pile, withdrawing his sword once more... the suits both walked towards each another, then stopped... turning towards him slowly.

Then each of them threw their axe at him, but he flipped backwards, crashing against the metal door... and Hiei watched as the axe went around like a boomerang, heading back towards each another... as soon as their axes touched each another - their bodies lit up like hot, heated steel.

Hiei felt a strange impulse, and ran through the door behind him, slamming the door shut, just as a loud explosion sounded from inside that room...

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_**To Be Continued...**_

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	7. Venom

**Chapter Seven: Vemon**

_By Sha / #29 (Sunday, July 31st, 2005)_

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Hiei was relieved to have gotten out of that battle easily, as he turned around, looking around alertly, and small amazement at the large room... it was very different, the walls were a dark bronze color that went up like a triangle, with a glass chandelier in the middle of the ceiling.

It was very dimly lit, giving off only the faint color of soft yellow light; Hiei ventured forward, looking around... Arches in the walls went up directly to the chandelier, forming a spiky circle around it that drove upward right into the top of the chains.

Hiei looked around again, at the brown velvet curtains over hanging portaits of landscapes inbetween each of the wall arches. Two elegant chairs were in front of each of the tall portaits; as he walked forward, his footsteps echoed through the room, such as it had in the previous room...

He silently sighed, wishing he knew where his lost sister, Yukina; had run off to after he had chased her? Perhaps that had been just an illusion? or perhaps not... he wasn't sure at all...

He felt lost now, and dizzy as he couldn't help himself from looking around in a circle, in an amazed trance; the lighting relaxed him, and he began to feel so sleepy... what was he doing?

Letting himself to become so vulnerable, yet... yet he couldn't help it... he hadn't felt like this ever, or not that he could remember ever feeling like... to be so relaxed, and at peace... to feel like nothing matters at all...

'Help me...'

The soft voice of his sister was what he heard, as he lifted his head; which now hurt as he slowly regained himself... but she wasn't in the room... she was somewhere, high above him and this floor... hurt, lost and frightened... crying for help... and here he was, letting himself fall under an enticing spell.

He swayed side to side, trying to get a grip on himself; as he bent over holding his knees, panting; a sick feeling washed over him, fully attacking his stomach, making him feel the need to vomit badly.

"What... what's happening... to me?" He gasped, as he became weaker and weaker, finally falling forward...

He laid on the cold marble floor; his eyes only half-open as he gazed at his hand... which had two revolting purple animal bites inbetween his thumb and first finger... how... how did that happen?

When?

...Why hadn't he noticed sooner?

His vision slowly became blurred, as the room began to spin to him... he felt dizzier and dizzier, as his head pounded harder, his stomach lurching... He was already aware of the fact he was paralyzed... and patheticly helpless...

Now, how was he supposed to rescue Yukina?

And those poor innocent twins... he promised them... they trusted him... was he really too helpless?

...He was afraid, and certain of the answer...

...yes...

The world began to spin faster, as he became too numb to feel or think... then everything blurred as he fell into darkness...

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Hiei slowly opened his eyes, then shut them quickly as a bright light was overhead him... where was he?

He forced his eyes opened again, looking to his sides... for one thing, he was in an armchair, which smelled very musty; there were tall crystal painted windows, with no curtains at all; there were bookshelves to each of the walls... and beside the book shelf on his right, on the opposite side of the room was the door, which had next to it, a dead four-candle standup... the wax was burned down low, apparently used alot.

He pushed the bright standing light that was in front of him, to the side, as he weakly stood up...

A wave of nausea swept over him, but once it passed, he began to feel strength returning to his muscles, as he took a few steps forward; he glanced at his bitten hand, to see the marks still there, but fading...

That was odd... but it didn't matter... afterall, someone - or something - that was his enemy brought him here... for what reason? And why hang a blasted light over his face?.!

Hiei went to the window, it was hard to see out of it; but somehow, he managed to jump up and kick up the latch, so that when he landed, he opened the lower left window... looking out at the enchanted forest; he noticed now that this 'tall window' was actually four put together, with one on top of their mate.

He turned sharply to the door as it opened, and to his horror; a giant, hairy mutated bat with legs of a bull, and the face of a rabid wolf; walked through the door; snarling once it noticed Hiei standing at the window.

Hiei quickly drew his sword; preparing for an attack, but waited to see what this... thing would do...

The monster dragged itself in, and it was then that Hiei realized it had a long donkey tail, which had fire burning the end of it's tail; leaving flame trails on the floor behind it.

Hiei barely had time to react as the beast slashed at him with it's gigantic clawed hands; now Hiei was up on the top of the book shelf, then lept off as the beast charged right into the book case, smashing through the wall; creating a large hole with which the pipes stuck out, spraying dark water into the room, as the monster turned to Hiei - it's firey coal eyes dead set on Hiei, who took a jump over the monster, then slashed down it's bony back, leaving a deep, long cut, as blood spilled out; while the beast shrieked so unearthly and loudly; then Hiei's ears began to throb from the shockwave.

Stunned from that scream, Hiei held his head with one hand, and didn't realize until he was pinned down, with his sword still stuck in the middle of the monster's spine; that the beast attacked him, and was towering over him, snarling.

The monster kept on snarling, it's face wrinkling up so disgustingly, as it began to foam... revolting purple foam... which was like acid, Hiei realized in shock, as it burned a hole through the book that was laying right next to his shoulder...

_**To Be Continued...**_


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